Fans Support Olympic Gold Medal Gymnast Simone Biles After Her Brother Was Charged In Ohio Triple-Homicide
Simone Biles is making headlines again, but not for her breathtaking performances on the mat.
Instead, the Olympic gold medal gymnast’s brother, Tevin M. Biles-Thomas, was charged Thursday in a triple-homicide that took place at an Airbnb on New Year’s Eve in Cleveland.
The 24-year-old, who is on active duty in the U.S. Army, was arrested at Fort Stewart in Georgia.
He’s been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of voluntary manslaughter, five counts of felonious assault and one count of perjury for the deaths of three men -- Devaugh Gibson, 23, Toshon Banks, 21, and 19-year-old DelVaunte Johnson.
The incident occurred shortly before midnight during a New Year’s Eve party at an Airbnb above LoVellee’s Restaurant & Lounge in the Brooklyn Centre neighborhood of Cleveland.
Shots were fired after a fight broke out when uninvited guests arrived and were asked to leave. Biles-Thomas has been accused of opening fire, although it’s unclear if he was the only shooter.
The three men were found dead with multiple gunshot wounds at the scene when police arrived.
A 21-year-old man was shot in the back of the head and a 23-year-old woman was shot in the arm, but their injuries were not fatal.
The person or people that pulled the trigger were nowhere to be found.
“The relentless persistence of Cleveland police homicide detectives helped secure an indictment in this case,” Cuyahoga County Prosecutor O’Malley told Cleveland.com. “It is through their hard work that we can begin to seek justice for these victims.”
Biles-Thomas is being held in the Liberty County, Georgia, jail and is due to appear in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court for arraignment on September 13.
The four-time Olympic gold medalist has yet to comment on her older brother’s charges, but she did take to Twitter shortly after the news broke and wrote, “eating my feelings don’t talk to me.”
Although it’s unclear exactly what was meant by her post, it’s been retweeted over a million times with nearly 13,000 likes. Messages of love and support from fans to Biles followed.
“You are so strong and you have persevered through so much. You’re going to get through this girl!” one fan tweeted.
“Simone you are our darling our daughter our sister our friend most importantly our family millions of little girls want to be like you,” another tweeted. “Its NOT YOUR FAULT OR RESPONSIBILITY to control your brother. We all must walk in our own shoes my princess God loves you and so do we.”
“You are more than just today’s headlines,” another supportive fan wrote. “You are an inspiration. Don’t give into the negativity.”
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